Rod and supporting means therefor



arch 1o, 1936. J. G. BLUNT Y 2,033,309

ROD AND SUPPORTING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Jan. 25, 1955 Patented Mar. 10,1936 ROD AND SUPPORTING MEANS THEREFOR Application January 25, 1935,Serial No. 3,439

2 Claims.

This invention relates to rods and supporting means therefor and to thesupports for movable rods and especially to such supports employed inconnection with a rod adapted for longitudinal movement such as athrottle operating rod of a steam locomotive.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved rod supportadapted for attachment to a surface and adjustable for supporting a rodat all angular as well as dierent vertical and lateral positionsrelative to said surface.

A further object is to provide a plurality of supports of the characterlast described in connection with a surface, such as the outer surfaceof a steam locomotive boiler, to various parts of which surface thesupports are attached, and in connection with a rigid rod, such as athrottle operating rod, which rod is supported by said supports,whereby, by adjustment, the supports are readily alignable so as toaccommodate the rigid rod regardless of irregularity and disalignment ofthe various parts of the surface.

A further object is to provide supports of the character described whichare characterized by sturdiness and simplicity, are constructed of aminimum number of parts and are capable of being assembled with ease.

Various other objects of and advantages achieved by this invention willbe apparent from the following description of approved embodimentsthereof which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a locomotive,with the throttle rod and rod supports embodying the invention appliedthereto; Fig. 2 is an enlarged end View of one of the supports shown inFig. 1, showing the throttle rod and a fragment of the locomotive boilerin transverse section; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the support shown inFig. 2, with the throttle rod shown fragmentally; Fig. 4 is a plan Viewof the support shown in Fig. 2, with the throttle rod shown fragmentallyand a fragment of the boiler shown in longitudinal section; Fig. 5 is anenlarged end view of another of the supports shown in Fig. 1, of amodified form, with the throttle rod shown in transverse section; andFig. 6 is an elevation of the support shown in Fig. 5, with the throttlerod shown fragmentally.

Referring particularly to Fig. l, the locomotive in connection withwhich the present invention is exemplified comprises a boiler indicatedgenerally by the numeral l, and a smoke box 2 disposed at the forwardend of the boiler. The boiler in- -cludes a barrel section 3 whichconverges forwardly and a rebox section 4 which converges rearwardly,thus exemplifying a surface to which the various supports are attached,the various parts of which surface are irregular and in disalignment. 5

A throttle valve 5 and a throttle rocker shaft 6 are provided in thesmokeboX. An arm l is carried by the shaft 6 and is connected by a link8 with the throttle valve. An arm 9 is secured on the end of the shaft 6at the outside of the locomotive boiler. A throttle operating rod I0,which is made in two sections ll and l2, extends along the side of theboiler on the outside thereof. An equal-armed lever I3 is interposedbetween and pivotally connected at its opposite ends to the adjacentends of the sections Il and I2 and is fulcrumed between its ends to theboiler. The throttle rod is pivotally connected at its forward end withthe free end of the arm 9 and at its rear end is connected by a link Mawith a throttle lever i4, which lever is fulcrumed to a bracket l5 whichis secured to the back head of the boiler, the throttle rod movingthrough a suitable guide formed on the bracket. It will be apparent thatmovements of the lever I4 about its fulcrum will eifectlongitudinalmovements of the rod I3 so as to operate the throttle valve.

All of the. aforedescribed parts are of the usual well-known design.

For slidably supporting the throttle rod, supports I6, il, I8, and i9are provided at intervals along the side of the boiler.

One embodiment of the support is shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 andcomprises essentially three parts, a bracket 20, a rod 2| which is bentat an angle and a guide block 22. The bracket 23 includes arectangularly shaped body portion 23 and a flange 24 secured thereto bywelds 25 (see Fig. 4). The body portion and flange may of course be ofone-piece formation if desired. Stud holes 26 are formed in the flange2li at the opposite sides of the body portion.

The boiler, being of usual construction, comprises a shell 21, lagging28 surrounding the shell, and a jacket 29. Filling pieces or thimbles3l! are disposed in the lagging between the shell and jacket, and studs3| are tapped into the shell and extend through the lling pieces' andjacket and through the holes 26. Nuts 32 are provided on the outer endsof the studs, thus securing the bracket to the boiler.

A vertical cylindrical hole 33 is formed in the body portion 23 and aslot 34 is also formed therein and extends outwardly therethrough fromthe hole 33. A bolt hole 35 is also formed in the body 55 portionoutwardly from and extending at a right to the rod 43 and further securethese parts angle to the hole 33 across the slot.

One end portion of the rod 2| is passed through the hole 33. The rod 2|may be adjusted upwardly or downwardly as well as swung pivotally in thehole 33 and when said rod has been adjusted to its proper position, nuts37 are drawn up on a bolt 35 which has been passed through the hole 35,thus securely clamping said rod in this position. To ensure furtherrigidity of the adjustment a spot weld 38 is preferably made, whichjoins the rod 2| and the body portion 23.

The other end portion of the rod 2| extends outwardly from the bracketand the rod is of sufficient length to provide the desired amount ofadjustment both vertically relative to the bracket in the manner justdescribed, and horizontally for the block 22 relative thereto in themanner which will presently be described.

The block 22 is of rectangular shape and is provided with twocylindrical holes 39 and 4Q which are formed therein at a right angle toeach other. The outwardly extending portion of the rod 2| extendsthrough the hole 4! and the throttle rod l0 extends through the hole 39,the latter hole being of suiicient diameter to permit free longitudinalmovement of the throttle rod therethrough.

The block 22 may be adjusted inwardly and outwardly relative to theboiler by moving it axially of the portion of the rod 2| which extendstherethrough, and may also be rotated about this rod portion. When thecorrect adjustment of the block has been obtained it is secured againstfurther movement or displacement by spot welds 4| which join the block22 and rod 2|.

A second embodiment of the invention which is interchangeable with therst described embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 and cornprisesa bracket 42, a rod 43 which is bent at an angle greater than the angleof the rod 2|, and a bloc-k 44.

The bracket 42 includes a rectangularly shaped body portion 45 and aflange 46 which is secured thereto by welds 4l. rlhe body portion 45 isprovided with a single cylindrical hole 48 which corresponds to the hole33 and through which one end portion of the rod 43 is passed. The rod 43may of course be adjusted either vertically or pivotally in the hole 48and when the correct adjustment has been obtained it is secured inposition by a spot weld 49 which joins it to the body portion.

The block 44 has three cylindrical holes 58, 5| and 52 formed therein.The holes 50 and 52 are parallel to each other and are disposed atopposite sides of and extend at right angles to the hole 5|. A slot 53is formed in the block 44 and extends outwardly through the block fromthe hole 5| crossing the hole 52.

The rod 43 extends downwardly and outwardly from the bracket 42 and itsouter end portion is passed through the hole 5i. The throttle rod I0 ispassed through the hole 54 which is of sufficient diameter to permitfree longitudinal movement of the throttle rod therethrough. The block44 may be adjusted inwardly and outwardly relative to the boiler bymoving it axially of the portion of the rod 43 on which it is carried,and may be also rotated about this portion. When the correct adjustmentof the block 44 has been obtained a nut 55 is drawn up on a bolt 54which has been passed through the hole 52, the block 44 being thussecured in position. A spot weld or welds may also be made if desired,to join the block 44 against relative movement or displacement.

While the blocks (22, 44) of the two aforedescribed embodiments areshown positioned with the throttle rod supported above the extendedportions of the respective bent rods (2|, 43), either of the blocks maybe rotated a half turn so as to support the throttle rod below thisportion of the bent rod of the support if such adjustment provesconvenient. Also in either of the aforedescribed embodiments the bentrod may of course be extended either upwardly or downwardly from itsrespective bracket as desired. The bent rod may be given any desiredangle, two angles being shown, to best accommodate it to its particularposition along the surface to which the support is connected, in thecase of a boiler, as shown, the sharper bend being preferably employednearest the longitudinal center line of the boiler. terchangeable.

It will be noted that brackets of the supports I6 and are illustrated asbeing disposed below the throttle rod and the brackets of the supportsI8 and i9 as disposed above the throttle rod in Fig. l.

It will be apparent that with respect to both of the embodimentsaforedescribed the blocks may be adjusted to accommodate all angularpositions of the throttle rod relative to the surface to which aparticular support is secured by turning the bent rods (2i, 43) in theirrespective bracket holes (33, 48) to take care of angularity in ahorizontal direction, and by swivelling the blocks (22, 44) on theirrespective bent rods to take care of angularity in a vertical direction.Also the blocks may be adjusted for different vertical positions of thethrottle rod relative to said surface by raising or lowering the bentrods in their respective bracket holes and for different relative inwardand outward positions by moving the blocks inwardly or outwardly ontheir respective extended bent rod portions.

More briefly it will be apparent that this invention provides anadjustable rod support which may be secured to a surface and adjusted tosupport a rod at all angular positions and at different Vertical andhorizontal positions relative to said surface. Furthermore the provisionof a plurality of the supports of this invention in connection with asurface having irregular and disaligned portions to which the supportsare respectively attached permits the guide blocks of the severalsupports -to be readily positioned and aligned as desired regardless ofsuch irregularity f and disalignment of the surface portions. Also itwill be apparent that the supports of this invention are characterizedby sturdness and simplicity, that they comprise a minimum number ofparts and that they are capable of being assembled with ease.

It will be obvious that supports may be vemployed as bearings forrotating rods as well as for longitudinally movable rods such as thethrottle rod described or for supporting an immovable rod. In the latterinstance the guide blocks could of course be rigidly engaged with thesupported rod if desired, as yfor instance by welding.

It will of course be understood that the adjusting and securing of theparts of the support in fixed positions will be accomplished at the mostsuitable time either previous to or after the rod has been positioned.In usual practice however the brackets will be secured to the surfacebefore The blocks 22 and 44 are in- CII the rod is positioned and byvirtue of the present invention providing the plurality of adjustmentsless care need be given as to denite placements of the brackets.

While particular embodiments of this invention have been hereinbeioredescribed it will be apparent that many and various changes andmodications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, and it will be understood that all such changes andmodications as fall within the scope of the appended claims arecontemplated as a part of this invention.

The invention claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A bracket for supporting a throttle rod or the like at a side of alocomotive, comprising a rod-engageable member having a cylindricalorifice open at both ends for engaging said rod to provide a working,sliding iit therewith, whereby said rod can be moved relative to saidmember in a direction longitudinally of the axis of said orifice andwill be held against moving relative to said member in a directiontransversely of said axis; a locomotive-engageable member adapted to besecured in fixed position to said side of said locomotive, each of saidmembers having a cylindrical opening formed therein; an angular memberin engagement with said rod-engageable member and in engagement withsaid locomotive-engageable member provided with two cylindrical legs,one of sai legs being disposed in said opening in said rod-engageablemember to provide said engagement therewith, and the other of said legsbeing disposed in said opening in said locomotive-engageable member toprovide said engagement therewith; and separate means for rigidlysecuring each of said legs with its respective engaged member, saidfirst mentioned engagement being adapted to permitmovement of saidrod-engageable member relative to said leg engaged therewith, prior tothe application thereto of said securing means, in directions1ongitudinally of and about the axis of said leg engaged therewith, andsaid second mentioned engagement being adapted to permit movement ofsaid leg engaged with said locomotive-engageable member relative to saidlocomotive-enageable member, prior to the application thereto of saidsecuring means, in directions longitudinally of and about its axis,whereby by selective effecting of said movements said rod-engageablemember may be accurately adjusted to a position, relative to saidposition for said locomotive-engageable member, to eiect positioning.off said cylindrical orice for engagement with said rod, to provide forsaid working, sliding t between said rod-engageable member and said rod.

2. A bracket for supporting a throttle rod or the like at a side of alocomotive, comprising a rod-engageable member having a cylindricalorifice open at both ends for engaging said rod to provide a working,sliding t therewith, whereby said rod can be moved relative to saidmember in a direction longitudinally of the axis of said orifice andwill be held against moving relative to said member in a directiontransversely of said axis; a locomotive-engagealble member adapted to besecured in iixed position to said side of said locomotive, each of saidmembers having a cylindrical opening formed therein; and an angularmember in engagement with said rod-engageable member and in engagementwith said locomotive-engageab-le member provided with two cylindricallegs, one of said legs being disposed in said opening in saidrod-engageable member to provide said engagement therewith, and theother of said legs being disposed in said opening in saidlocomotive-engageable member to provide said engagement therewith, eachof said legs being rigidly secured by a weld with its respective engagedmember, said first mentioned engagement being adapted to permit movementof said rod-engageable member relative to said leg engaged therewith,prior to the application of said weld therebetween, in directionslongitudinally of and about the axis of said leg engaged therewith, andsaid second mentioned engagement being adapted to permit movement ofsaid leg engaged with said locomotive-engageable member relative to saidlocomotive-engageable member, prior to the application of said weld A

